NPRA praises US transition to net fuels exporter
A new report that says growing US exports of petroleum fuels may enable the country to become a net exporter of refined petroleum products this year for the first time since 1949 is good news for the US, according to National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) president Charles T. Drevna.
According to the report issued this week by the US Energy Information Administration, America exported 753.4 million bbl of refined petroleum fuels in the first nine months of 2011, while importing 689.4 million bbl. 
“At a time when America’s unemployment rate remains stuck at 9 percent and our nation is sending billions of dollars abroad to purchase foreign products made by foreign workers, it’s gratifying to know that American fuel manufacturers are doing our part to keep Americans employed and to strengthen the US manufacturing sector,” Drevna said.
“American refiners still face challenges from a blizzard of existing and new regulations that are costly and, in some cases, conflicting,” Drevna continued. “These regulations threaten to reverse this new trend in American fuels production and further raise consumer costs.
“There are also still regions of the country that are challenged by the prospect of import competition in a competitive global marketplace. These pressures are likely to increase as America emerges from the recession.
“If exports of fuels refined in America continue as a trend rather than proving to be a one-time anomaly, it will be a positive development for American energy security. It will also result in more American jobs, more tax revenue for government at all levels, and a faster recovery for our nation’s economy. “
Drevna said the recovery could be accelerated even more if the US government approves the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry more oil from Canada to US refineries.
“America’s refineries are the most efficient in the world and our workers are the best in the world,” Drevna said. “For years, elected officials have justifiably complained about the export of American jobs and the decline of American manufacturing.
“American fuel manufacturers want to keep working to reverse that disturbing trend and to strengthen America’s economic and national security.”
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